Sunday, October 17, 2010

Plus/Minus: Second verse, same as the first

The Canadiens have played their first home game. It's officially too late for your pre-opener Bell Centre shopping trip. (I had to make my trip all by myself for the first time ever this year. I was indecisive and trying to stick to a budget. It wasn't my finest hour.)
It was a pretty good week for the team. Most of them, that is. I can't necessarily say the same for people who do not play for the Montreal Canadiens.


PLUS
+ This is a very general plus: winning. 5 out of a potential 6 points is not too shabby.
+ Is this the resurgence of Andrei Kostitsyn? Or does he have a sense of humour, and wanted to take advantage of the "Frère Andrei" puns?
+ Carey Price. I happened to see someone I know over the weekend who is a huge (and I mean huge) Price-hater. He didn't have anything to say about the goalie. Thank you so much for shutting him up, Carey. It means more to me than I can say.
+ The Carey Price-PK Subban postgame celebration. Someone on Youtube dubbed it a "triple low 5" which makes sense. I like it.
+ It was a very simple introduction, nothing really out of the ordinary for Montreal, but I really liked the home opener ceremony. It may not have been as regal as the LA Kings' home opener ceremony, for instance, but the Bell Centre treats every game like it's a big deal.
+ Good to hear that former Habs, Glen Metropolit and Matt D'Agostini, are putting up points for their new teams.


MINUS
FAIL
- The Lightning beat the Canadiens during their home opener, but get pummeled by the Panthers? The PANTHERS, really? Why couldn't Dan Ellis have been in net on Wednesday night?
- The Buffalo Sabres really pulled out all the stops for their 40th anniversary! And their fans were excited beyond belief!
- The men on RDS commenting on the relative lameness of the Sabres' anniversary celebration. Those of us at home, who are not on camera, can say whatever we want. If you're on TV, it might be nice to show just an ounce of professionalism.
- 3 The Canadiens organization told us they had three big announcements, but none of them are really that great.
First, fans can vote for the game's three stars, which is a nice initiative, but incredibly flawed.
Second, they launch a smartphone app, which is supposed to be news, even though pretty much anyone who's anyone already has an app on the market. Not to mention that it's not compatible with many smartphones - Android is the world's top-selling smartphone operating system, and yet the app is only compatible with two Android phones. TWO. Neither of which is the phone that both Czechtacular and I are using. But whatever, you get all the news (and more!) by following Dave Stubbs and All Habs on Twitter.
Third, a Bell exclusive Canadiens reality show. A few years ago, I might have thought this was a good idea. But I know better now. Nearly everyone in Montreal will recognize their favourite Canadien if they see him on the street or out shopping. We live in one of the biggest NHL cities. A reality show seems superfluous. If this show had never been filmed, I'd be okay with that. (I might watch it, but I probably won't enjoy it.)

There's no Canadiens game until Wednesday Thursday. What on earth will I talk about on Tuesday night's Game Points?
No, fate, that was not a challenge.

6 comments:

  1. I'm really liking these plus/minus posts. Short, sweet and to the point, with a bit of positivity and humor at times. Beats the hell out of paragraphs of pundits with their chronic Negative Nelly syndrome (yeah me included). I'm giving you a Triple Low 5 right now!

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  2. I missed that PK/Price thingie. That was nice. Don't try to steal Josh's BFF though, PK!

    And I agree with Tyg, those posts are fun to read!

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  3. Thanks, guys! I like writing Plus Minus!

    Greg, to be honest, I'm a little worried that PK might be stealing Carey away, but I'm sure they're all buddies. I was a little more worried about him hanging out with Scott Gomez. I mean, um, Scott Gomez is the coolest dude ever.

    The only thing that worries me is my superstition. Carey and Josh had started coming up with cute post-win celebrations (like the helmet switch) two seasons ago, and then the season went to crap. But that's not going to happen this time!!

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  4. Beats the hell out of paragraphs of pundits with their chronic Negative Nelly syndrome

    well that just hurts a little Tyg ;)

    I am still hypnotized by that Habs circlejerk of introduction

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  5. It would be really funny if you had actually been offended, HF29.

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  6. I completely forgot to give a Plus to Tomas Plekanec's "I just scored a badass goal" face: http://bit.ly/blOKo5

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